|
The auction was a celebration of the history
and cultural impact hip-hop has had on art and culture from the
late 1970s through mid-1990s, and up to the present, Sotheby's
said.
After highlighting sneakers and handbags in recent years,
Sotheby's in New York dedicated its September auction to hip-hop
culture, featuring some 120 lots that included boomboxes, photos
of Snoop Dogg and Louis Vuitton luggage.
The auction house has said it was the first auction staged by an
international house anywhere devoted entirely to hip-hop.
The signed crown, which was just a plastic prop from a party
shop, worn by the rapper in the 1997 "King of New York"
photograph was offered on sale for the first time, and was
expected to fetch $200,000 -$300,000 at the Sept. 15 auction,
Sotheby's had said earlier.
The New York rapper, also known as Biggie Smalls, was shot dead
in Los Angeles at the age of 24 three days after the photo shoot
as part of a feud between east and west coast rappers that also
took the life of Tupac Shakur, 25, in 1996. Both crimes remain
unsolved.
In the auction, a series of 22 love letters written by a
16-year-old Shakur to his high school sweetheart Kathy Loy
between 1987-1988, were sold for $75,600.
The sale comprised of unique artifacts, contemporary art,
photography, vintage and modern fashion, historic and newly
designed jewelry and luxury items, rare ephemera including
flyers and posters.
This follows the 270-year-old auction house's recent forays into
collectible sneakers, space memorabilia, pop music lyrics and
designer handbags.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz
Janowski)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. 
|
|
